Re-ACT Lab Institute, in partnership with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) – Pristina Office, is organising the policy design workshop "Co-designing Public Policies: Labour Shifts and Digital Divide".

Kosovo is increasingly susceptible to several shocks, be it institutional or ecological ones. Our research has highlighted that regulatory frameworks and the way the government addresses these shocks remain a crucial aspect of building resilience among institutions and society in order to absorb and adapt to the impact of these shocks. 

While the digital transformation is often viewed as a purely technical challenge, our research frames it as a resilience issue. Kosovo boasts a high household internet penetration rate (96%), yet a ‘coverage paradox’ persists where high access masks a deep lack of meaningful usage and digital skills. This ‘second-level’ divide leaves vulnerable populations - particularly the elderly, rural residents, and marginalised communities - excluded from the benefits of digitisation. The resilience of the current regulatory framework is low (scoring 42%), primarily due to a lack of redundancy and rapidity. Without specific mechanisms to protect citizens who cannot navigate digital-only services, the rapid digitisation of state services risks deepening social exclusion rather than bridging it. Building resilience here means creating a regulatory environment that ensures no citizen is left behind during a crisis of access or a failure of digital infrastructure.